Fate
by TheWanderingNight
Summary: Modern AU. Story of how Vastra and Jenny met. Reviews are welcome, this is my first FanFic.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

She thought going to college would be fun, and it has been at times. But the long walk from campus to her new apartment in the late evening was a bit scary. She didn't have a lot of money so the apartment was situated in a less than desirable area. The hot, humid air was rare for mid September and as Jenny walked she was silently cursing her professors for requiring such heavy books. "Almost there" she mumbled, trying to motivate herself but just a moment later there came a ripping sound and half her books fell to the pavement. "Just my friggin' luck.." and for a moment she just stood there mentally raging against the timing of her ill fate. She began picking up the items while realizing she was only a little more than a block from the apartment when she heard "Hey, you need some help with that girl?" Jenny looked up and saw a group of men standing across the street.

Jenny froze. A small voice in the back of her head was reminding her that this is why being alone in a big city was a bad idea. She tried to get up and run but by that time the men had already crossed the street and started to surround her. They started laughing, making crude and disgusting jokes to one another as they shoved her toward a darkened alleyway. Fear started to sink in but Jenny was not one to go down without a fight. She started to kick and claw at any of the men within reach. She felt some satisfaction when her nails met with a face and caused ragged red lines to appear, however, that feeling was short lived. The man cursed and punched her hard on the left side of head. Jenny fell, disoriented and seeing stars. She vaguely registered the feeling of someone on top of her, grabbing at her clothes but she was unable to focus, as all she could see were blurred shadows. She keep struggling, flailing her limbs hoping in vain to fight them off. Just as her heart began to accept defeat and despair, the weight on top her, the grabbing hands, vanished. Jenny tried to steady her vision to find out how to escape when something large flashed before her. She realized something was fighting the men and throwing their bodies around like they were mere toys. Jenny started to crawl toward the entrance to the alley to escape but was soon overcome by the injury to her head. No sooner had it dawned on her that the alley had become eerily quiet, that she felt hands grabbing her shoulders. Jenny immediately attempted to free herself and fight back but the she was soon enveloped by two very strong arms. Someone was saying something but her mind only registered that the voice was female. Jenny's fear was too overwhelming for her to stop fighting. Eventually, though, the woman's words came through in a soft, deep cadence:

"And thou, too, whosoe'er thou art,

That readest this brief psalm,

As one by one thy hopes depart,

Be resolute and calm.

Oh, fear not in a world like this,

And thou shalt know erelong,

Know how sublime a thing it is,

To suffer and be strong." 1

At these words Jenny's body finally relaxed and her mind began to restore order. She slowly tried to focus her vision but everything was still shaky. Her left eye was already swollen shut. "Can you get up?" the female voice asked. Jenny replied with "Yes" and with the assistance from the woman she stood up. The woman then inquired "Do you lived nearby? I mean close enough to walk?". Jenny nodded, but then immediately regretted it from the pounding it started in her head. "Yeah I live about a block away but I'm not sure about the walking part", her legs were starting to feel a bit like Jello. "That's quite alright, I can assist you. Just give me directions." And with that, the woman pulled Jenny's arm over her shoulder and together they shuffled toward the alley entrance. As they reached Jenny's book bag, the woman leaned down with her free hand to pick them up while still holding Jenny upright. They then continued their shuffling with Jenny giving directions until they reached her apartment. The woman seemed to realize that Jenny would not be able to climb the stairs on her own and proceeded to assist her into the tiny apartment.

As the woman helped Jenny onto the couch, Jenny got to see the face of her protector for the first time and was speechless. The woman's face was completely green. Not the pale green that people get when they are about to be ill, but a vibrant emerald green. Jenny opened her mouth to say something but then met the woman's eyes and stopped. Her eyes were a crystal blue that reminded Jenny of the blue waters surrounding the white beaches she had been to as a child. When Jenny became silent, the woman, realizing that she had caught sight of her face, quickly started to back away and turned to leave. "Wait!" Jenny said, "I didn't get a chance to thank you." The green woman stopped and slowly turned around, saying "What?". "I-I wanted to say.. t-thank you. Thank you for saving me tonight. If you hadn't stopped them.." Jenny's voice trailed off, she didn't want to finish that sentence. The woman seemed to just stare at Jenny in what could only be assumed as astonishment. "Your not afraid of me?" she said. "No, you just saved my life so why should I be?" replied Jenny, but she mentally reminded herself that her judgement may be slightly flawed by saying this to a complete stranger. Especially one that is green. "Most people that see me run away screaming, no one has ever thanked me before." The woman seemed uncomfortable for a moment, and there was an awkward silence before she added "You should put some ice on that eye." With those words the woman turned and opened the door to leave, when Jenny remembered something, "Longfellow". "Sorry?" the woman just barely turned back to look at Jenny. "What you said to me in the alley, you were quoting Longfellow." The woman answered, "Yes, he is my favorite", and with that she quickly left the apartment. "Mine too" Jenny whispered to herself.

1 From the poem 'The Light of Stars' by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you for the wonderful reviews. I will try to post on a weekly basis as this has been very fun to write!

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Chapter 2

She dreamed about the girl. Again. Vastra sighed as she got up, glancing at the clock to see that it was only 4pm. Still another couple of hours before night fall, Vastra shook her head and stared at her reflection in the mirror. "What's gotten into you" she asked herself. It had been a week since she had saved that girl in the alley and yet it seemed she couldn't stop wondering about her. The last two days Vastra had even made excuses to herself just so she could pass by the girl's apartment on her way home. At first she thought it was just because she had wanted to ensure that the girl was ok. But then Vastra realized that, against her own instincts, she liked this girl. Vastra was used to saving people. It had been nearly fifty years since she had made the vow to save ape - _human_ lives in penance for her own crimes against them. As much as she disliked humans with their wanton waste and illogical reasoning, she would never break her word. For decades she had fought with evil so that the victims could live, and yet each time that victim, once they realized someone came to their aid, would stop and allow their fear to overtake them. That fear only trebled once they saw that the person who saved them was a lizard. Vastra had become used to the screaming, the running, the hurtful words that were hurled in her direction. But she was unaccustomed to being thanked. That was definitely a first.

Shortly after the first dream, Vastra had realized those that two words had been the difference. Not only had the girl thanked her, but she had also seen her face and seemed to accepted it without explanation. Vastra shook her head again, harder this time, trying to stop her own train of thought. Don't start thinking about that again, she told herself. A short beep made her look around. She quickly crossed the room and picked up the cell phone that had been given to her by Lieutenant Lestrade. He was the fourth Lieutenant she had worked with at the police department. The Doctor had kindly informed the first one about Vastra's talents and it had gone down the line of Lieutenants over the years. The text message on the phone simply stated "Need help on a case" and it gave an address. Vastra smirked. She liked having the apes grovel to her when they were confronted with situations their mediocre brains couldn't handle.

—/—

As Vastra walked home from the scene, she couldn't help thinking how strange this case was. Usually the cases Lestrade called her in for were easily completed by the next day. This new one, however, promised to be the most challenging yet. Apparently the police had seen a similar case two months ago but since the killer didn't repeat it within a short amount of time, they assumed that was the end of it. Assumed. Typical of the ape police. Vastra briefly glanced at the intersection she was crossing and realized she was very close to the girl's apartment. Well, maybe walking by wouldn't be a bad thing. Just to make sure she's ok. Right. Vastra sighed and rolled her eyes but her feet automatically turned her toward her new destination.

—/—

She pushed her keyboard away in frustration. Apparently lack of concentration will be the order of the night. Jenny stood up from her desk and stretched. She had been trying to finish her paper for the last three hours but hadn't had any success. She lightly paced around the small apartment hoping the muscle movement would help her brain to gain a clearer thought process. Jenny pursed her lips, it was no use. Since the attack last week, the only item her mind would focus on was the green woman. If she was a woman at all. Definitely female but maybe not human. The amount of physical strength it would have taken to defeat those men seemed to be too much for a human woman. And it only made Jenny even more curious. At first she had wondered if all of it had actually happened, but reality set in after she saw her reflection in the mirror sporting an impressive black eye.

The street light outside flickered for a moment and Jenny went to the window, pulling back the curtain to check outside. As she looked down she noticed a hooded figured walking down the street. Now, people dressed in hooded attire are not uncommon in the area and Jenny at first didn't think anything of it. But then, something about the individual's gait caught her attention. As the figure came closer to her apartment they glanced up, right to her window. Jenny gasped. It was the green lady. Before she could register anything else, Jenny found herself sprinting down the stairs and rushing outside. The woman had evidently noticed the curtain movement in the window because she was quickly moving down to the far end of the street. Jenny ran to catch up and yelled "Hang on! I know its you!". As she rounded the corner she nearly ran right into the green woman, who had stopped upon hearing Jenny's voice.

"Sorry" she panted "I just wanted… just wanted to say hi", Jenny was out of breath but that wasn't the reason she was struggling for words. Now that she was standing in front of the woman, she didn't quite know what to say. "Hello" was the only response she got. There was a moment of awkward silence and Jenny tried to fill it "Sorry, but I don't even know your name. My name is Jenny, Jenny Flint." She held out her hand. The green woman seemed to hesitate and shift uncomfortably before replying "My name is Vastra". She briefly shook Jenny's hand. When their hands met, Jenny was surprised to feel cold, hardened skin on Vastra's hand. "Why are you so cold?" she asked and, before she could stop herself, added "And why is your skin like that or is it skin?" Jenny blushed a deep red. Leave it to her big mouth and curiosity to always get the best of her. She reminded herself that this was why she had so few friends. Her father used to always tell her to stop asking so many questions since it would never be possible for a girl to learn all the answers. She cringed at the memory but was brought back to the present by Vastra's own question. "Why are you not afraid of me?" Jenny tried to answer honestly "Well, you saved me. You got me home. I figured if you were going to hurt me you could have done it in that alley." Vastra seemed a bit taken aback by this but after a moment said "I won't hurt you. And I don't have skin, I have scales". She tilted her hand in the limited light available from the street lamp to show glittering green scales. "I am a lizard." Jenny's brain stopped for a moment and tried to process this information. Lizards are small to medium sized creatures, as far as she knew none of them walked upright. The last ones to do that were dinosaurs, but those were huge so where.. "But, how.. I mean why.." Her voice trailed off. Vastra gave a small, sad smile.

BANG.

Both women gave a start. "What was that?" Jenny asked. "Well, as I am standing here with you, I do not know. But I can find out." Vastra gave a smirk and started off towards the alley. Jenny narrowed her eyes slightly at the jab but, with a slight smile, followed the green woman nonetheless. Her curiosity was peaked, and for the first time in a long time she was having fun.


End file.
